Indian silhouettes and designs were at the forefront during the opening of 66th Cannes film festival with Bollywood beauties Sonam Kapoor and Vidya Balan opting for traditional attires at the red carpet.
Sonam, 27, wore designer Anamika Khanna's couture white lace saree that had pearls embedded on it. She gave the nine-yard cloth a contemporary twist by teaming it with a kundan nath (nose ring) and long gold embroidered cape jacket.
Fashion designer Sabyasachi designed all the three dresses that Balan wore at the festival where she is part of the nine-member jury. The actress, 35, first selected a white-gold saree and dark embellished blouse for jury photo call.
She later opted for a nude lehenga and black embellished blouse for the opening of the festival where she dramatised her look by covering her head with the dupatta.
Balan chose elegant maroon lehenga and full-sleeved choli for a later event. She completed her ethnic look with a black bindi, neatly tied bun and jhumkas.
Talking to PTI, Sabyasachi said he was happy to see Indian fashion make a statement on Cannes red carpet.
"Indian actresses are doing a great job at Cannes. If you are not taking your own ethnic designs to the international platform then you are doing nothing. It is great to see Indian designs on Cannes red carpet," Sabyasachi said.
While Balan and Sonam stood out in their intricate Indian designs, 'Slumdog Millionnaire' beauty Freida Pinto looked stunning in a fuschia silk chiffon halter Gucci gown.
Actress Mallika Sherawat, notorious for her risque red carpet outings, chose a demure golden gown at 'The Great Gatsby' premiere.
This year India is the guest country at Cannes, which was opened by Bollywood mega star Amitabh Bachchan and his 'The Great Gatsby' co-star Leonardo DiCaprio.
Cannes is celebrating 100 years of Indian cinema and to honour the event, Bachchan addressed the audiences in Hindi.
The mega star, who wore an embellished tuxedo, will be joined by his daughter-in-law Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and granddaughter Aaradhya at the festival later.
Aishwarya is a regular at Cannes and her red carpet outing is a much awaited event for Indian fashion followers.
